An empty room, devoid of life, albeit the white walls which surrounded a finely cut atmosphere. Dread lingered inside, the crickets replacing the cicadas shrill melody throughout the brightest, clear moon. Caskets of stars rained down as small wishes, laying down a perfectly black quilt spread just for them. No one dared to break the silence, the tender bitterness that was forming at the end of their world as they knew it.

With a few centimetres, that being the distance between, two people were united by pristine silence.

However, a shattering sound could be heard inside the mind of one of them.

A lonely human whose emotions were lost, becoming a core of solitude itself.

«Was it okay? Was it really, really okay?»

Thoughts that haunted without perishing, the uncertainty of an ambivalent heart that screamed for answers that never came not from others but from their own self. 

The moment the beginning of this end started, they did not know. In the blink of an eye, hidden from everyone and even themselves, it took place leading them to this current state of affairs. What started as just a fairytale promise had turned into, most certainly, the end of the world.

Even if happiness had made way into their heart, inside those innocent childhood days that gathered like fragments of time forming a beautiful crystal, it was tarnished into tiny little pieces day after day. As if it were a rose, the fragments were the withering petals equating the life of every single «Subject» their hands got ahold of.

Yet, the person who was sleeping right in front of them on top of a bed was not like the others. Even still, the damage had been done nonetheless. It became a game with no ending, winner or loser. What began as simple make-believe was now reality itself. 

Their hands. It started with those, crimson, scarlet covered hands.

They came to the conclusion that it was not enough. That something had to be done. Said pain of despair and restlessness just made them feel nice inside. So, so nice. The only conscious human in the room thought they were sick and twisted for having such musing coming from their own suffering.

«Is it fair to call it suffering from my own, though? Isn’t that disgusting, huh.»

So they began to open it up.

The electrifying, tingling sensation of their own polished nail digging deep into their own scalp. Digging and digging until blood emerged.

Ah, that pain was gratifying. A pain they felt was well deserved. Pain in the name of everyone that had suffered from an unjust fate.

«Why do people feel disappointed about others? Do they have to fulfil a specific role for them to be accepted? To be tolerated and loved?»

A question that no one could answer, not even the other human inside the empty white room. As double-faced as that might sound, the sleeping silhouette was the one they wanted the least to hear those concerns. 

«What are expectations anyway? What do people expect of me? What do people expect from all of this? What do I expect from this mess?»

That’s a very good question. It all started as a make-believe that became reality itself, coding this world into a new one which was now coming to an end.

«Such a huge disappointment.»

Answering themselves for a change, a realisation crossed their mind. How simple had it been. Baffled by their own stupidity, everything became clear: they had expectations for themselves as well. If they can’t quite fit the expectations for they themselves had settled from the start, how are they supposed to achieve their only purpose in life? The only heartbeat that keeps them going through a monochrome world?

Although, a memory filled with light remained inside their clouded mind. 

A small light of happiness appeared and they eluded it for so, so long.

“You’ve had your toll of bad experiences. You deserve to be happy with someone, give yourself a chance again.”

The sleeping person was right.

Although, that same person knew this tainted personage did not deserve it as well.

«Ah, wish I could redo my life from scratch.»

A door closed, their shadow leaving the white, empty room.

❀

In a place where the moon shined without signing an invisible melody, stealing the light of the stars in an empty sky, the vacant alleyways were haunting the souls of every person in the colliding crosswalk. The metal lanterns that illuminated the capital of Gifu were nothing more than mere decorations for the shadows that lurked during that time. Running through the night, hopping between buildings, a figure stood near the downtown that goes by the name of Yanagase. Background characters were engrossed in gaming, gossiping and shopping.

People watching was a favourite hobby of «The Observer».

But their clock stuck at ten o’clock and knew the show was about to begin as soon as an unnoticeable explosion for the extra characters took place. Apparently, the barrier had been formed earlier than expected. The Observer smiled, delighted into what was going to delve tonight while one of the bystanders tumbled between the darkness. Grudgingly making their way into an empty area, a businessman like any other from the million stood in silence, just to collapse in seconds holding his head in despair and agony.

“I’m sick and tired of all of this. Tired of this world being so unfair! Hard work isn’t enough anymore! If only… If only I…!”

The Observer smirked. The show was about to begin.

The man was swallowed by a bright, purple aura while energy emerged from his pupils. The HeartBit of Damnation was taking over, but the Observer wasn’t panicking because they knew that wasn’t the spectacle they were eagerly waiting for.

The cherry blossom trees swayed with the wind, bringing forth a spiral of rain in the shape of candy. 

Ah, The Observer felt displeased.

Still, they saw the origin of said power and sighed. 

“Your time is almost over. Have fun, number Ninety-Two. I did not have high expectations from you, anyway.”

A battle began, being swallowed by nothingness according to The Observer’s monochromatic view of the world.

Nonetheless, it was more than what met their eyes.

Even if no one was there anymore to enjoy the supernatural spectacle that unfolded under the starlit sky, the main protagonist of this segment of the story bolted at an unnatural scene to where once that lonely salesman stood, rushing through gigantic blocks of flats where people had pleasant dreams, unbeknownst to them what was unfolding.

Prussian blue hair, tied into two symmetric pigtails which were across being on the ground-level swept by the endless night’s dust, a platinum one-piece dress fluttering against the wind. A lovely maiden was making her way throughout such a haunted scenery, extracted from the most hideous nightmare. Plum purple coloured eyes sparkled with uncontrollable anger that swelled inside of her, giving her innocent appearance a much more intimidating look.

Nonetheless, once she reached the middle of an isolated park where the HeartBit of Damnation was, nothing could be found.

The lullaby sung by the crickets reached high peak momentum, while the swirling withered leaves of the trees danced across her head. An invigorating atmosphere was surrounding her, her body senses increasing every second. The crystal flower embedded on her chest had a dim light, the scarlet coloured geranium losing its beauty. 

Sweat crawled across her face, tingling anticipation with a dose of uncertainty.

Something was approaching. Definitely so.

Even still, the fair maiden could not let this opportunity pass. The HeartBit of Damnation had already eluded her several times and revenge was just near the grasp of the palms of her tiny, slender hands. Raising her right arm up to the sky, golden light spread whilst her lips mutter words to which for passersbys would be nonsensical.

“Let the power of nature be my force, control what science cannot. The laws of nature bonded to me, allow my senses to be exploited down to their core. For every one step that you take in the pursuit of higher knowledge, take three steps in the perfection of your own character.” 

Encircling her own soul, the lonely park became a whirlwind of an unknown force, the trees falling and crashing between each other as well as the unused, rusted see-saws and slides inside the abandoned playground. 

Above her head, just where the light rested in the sky that had been manifested through her hand, something had started to form with a particular shape, leaving clear it was a pentagram. However, what stood out the most about this unusual star, were the outside shapes of a circle on the top, a triangle with a middle line inside of it located on the first left tip, another triangle with the same line although this one was inverted on the tip that followed, an upright third triangle with nothing inside on the bottom right tip and, finally, an inverted triangle just as empty as the previous one on the last tip of the pentagram.

Ordinarily, you could put it like this, imagining the cardinal points of a compass; upright triangle with an inside line with east, inverted triangle with the same inside line with south, upright empty triangle with the west, inverted hollow triangle with north, and the circle with the centre.

“Let these five points be my head, arms and legs,” the blue-haired maiden closed her eyes, ready to summon what seemed to be a high-tier level spell. “Fight with Water and Fire with Fire, banish their souls into nothingness, and remove their powers until the last trace. Let these evil beings flee, through time and space… Water-Blue—”

However, her chant was interrupted once the spiral storm of rain in the shape of candy seen by The Observer minutes ago arrived at her location.

Holding her right wrist with an unimaginable force, the pentagram in the sky flickered, its power slowly vanishing from sight.

Breathless, her plum purple irises are swallowed whole by two aquamarine eyes which reflected immediate, passionate anger towards said girl. Their mint coloured curly hair, alongside the brown chocolate diamonds as decorations on the tips, was illuminated by the park’s street lamps once the whirlwind stopped, their world ceasing, coming into a complete halt.

“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing, Himorogi?”

Annoyed.

That person sounded annoyed and the young maiden knew perfectly well as to why.

“Weren’t you the one who insisted on calling ourselves with codenames? Why are you suddenly—?”

Yet, the girl was stopped mid-sentence once again.

“You know perfectly well why. We made an agreement yesterday! If the HeartBit of Damnation appeared again we would not engage in a fight! You saw what happened last night, we could’ve been dead if Nia hadn’t—!”

“Just because you’re my upperclassman at this, it doesn’t mean you get to order me around! I need to exterminate that thing!” A scream that pierced her lungs, the fair prussian-blue haired girl who apparently was called Himorogi, managed to get away from the other girl. “I will end this!”

“You reckless girl, can’t you notice what is going on with you right now? Get your priorities straight!” Pushing her with all the force of the world, Himorogi fell to the ground while the aquamarine eyed girl pointed her index finger towards the crystal flower embed on her chest, the scarlet coloured geranium slowly becoming tarnished with black. “You need to stop now!”

Yes, she knew that too as well. Nevertheless, her emotions were oversaturated with hatred.

“Remember the «Law of Return». Please, stop it! Higher ranked magic can’t be used like this!” 

Her innocent prayer came to deaf ears.

The mint coloured girl’s dress fluttered, its red velvet texture and colour swirling in the wind while her white, spongey cape almost blew her off. Her eyes were open, plain as saucers watching the stubborn maiden resume her spell from zero.

“I don’t care. I don’t care if the energy I’m putting out into the world, be it positive or negative, will be returned to me threefold.” Standing up, she reached her right hand once again up into the sky, the pentagram slowly being illustrated in the starless sky. “Let the power of nature be my force, control what science cannot. The laws of nature bonded to me, allow my senses to be exploited down to their core. For every one step that you take in the pursuit of higher knowledge, take three steps in the perfection of your own character…”

Though, even if this was the second girl’s biggest fear, the detonator of it all had arrived at the scene.

Even if she had done her best to retain it alone. 

Even if she knew she had to stop it at all costs to avoid this outcome.

Even if she knew everything was lost.

The HearBit of Damnation had appeared, triggering the stubborn girl’s senses out of her mind, hatred and grief dominating her consciousness.

That was, absolutely, the futile spectacle The Observer had reached at the very beginning, belittling it as uninteresting and, truly, truly mediocre. That was why he gave up on every single hope on Number Ninety-Two.

A brilliant specimen with a dull ending.